Naruto - Dragon Sage
by haku2199
Summary: Because Minato Namikaze left explicit instructions for many possible events, Naruto's life is gonna take a very different turn. Smart/Strong Naruto. Explicit and graphic content. Later content maybe not for the faint of heart.
1. chapter 1 - Explicit Instructions

AN: Hello everyone, this is gonna be my first Naruto Fanfic but nonetheless I want you to give me every little piece of constructive critique.

I have read lots of stuff until this point in my life and not just fanfic, I've also written a lot up until now but didn't publish anything as of yet. It took a while and was kind of hard to come up with an at least half decent original concept for a story, that said of course I could never have read every Fanfic there is so if you see something familiar please feel free to point it out.

Please note I am not a native English speaker and if you encounter some grave errors in my use of that language please point them out as well.

Be adviced this story is going to contain adult themes and I could imagine some very graphic content, violence and sexuality.

Of course I do not own any of the Naruto franchise nor its characters.

Chapter 1 - Explicit Instructions

It's been six years since the devastation of Konoha by the mighty Kyuubi and an unknown intruder. In his office, the Sandaime Hokage was restlessly walking up and down in front of the big windows, overlooking the village and absentmindedly

smoking his beloved pipe. In a matter of days a new generation would enter the ninja academy, normally though an important matter this would not cause the god of Shinobi any concern. But this year would be different, the son of his successor, Uzumaki Naruto, a child of fate and the Jinchuuriki, the human container for the Kyuubi No Kitsune would enter the academy.

The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato war hero and beloved leader of Konohas people was no fool, he learned from some of the best and was considered to be the strongest of his time, had forseen the possibility of someone going after Konohas Bijuu and had left instructions for many possible events. So on that fateful night, when a madman came and ripped the Chakra beast out of his beloved so that it had to be resealed into his own newborn child, he was able to die with contempt because he just new that his child would surely rise to true greatness one day.

With a puff of smoke Sarutobi Hiruzen, acting Hokage since the Yondaime's death, released a deep sigh. With a deep frown on his wrinkled face he stared at his reflection on the windows, he had gotten old and he started to feel it more and more. "Little Naruto is six years old already, oh how time flows by." Live had been unkind to the child, in order to protect him from his father's many enemies the boys heritage had to be kept secret or else the assassins just wouldn't have stopped coming. But in Konoha everybody that was alive and able to comprehend at the time after the attack knew what had happened and that the monstrosity that came by to ravage their village and take the lives of their friends and family was just there inside that little boy, and they hated him for it. Not understanding the sacrifice that was made they despised the boy and they made him feel it. In order to quench that senseless hatred the Sandaime Hokage forbade talking about the identity of the Jinchuuriki and made it punishable by death to do so, he hoped at least the next generation would be able to make up their minds on their own this way, but of course many parents couldn't stop themselves from warning their offspring to stay away from the demon child.

Naruto had to grow up without a friend in the world in these important years of his life, resented and despised, at times it got so bad, ANBU agents had to be dispatched to look after the boy so he wouldn't get attacked even out in broad daylight.

"A brave boy, he just keeps smiling, alltough I am sure it's a mere facade, one has to be strong to be able to put up with such things... Kushina, Minato I have failed you.", Sarutobi thought when he turned to look at the picture of his deceased successor.

A knock on the large double doors to his office got him out of his stupor, correcting his posture he sat on his chair. "Enter.", he spoke loud and clear and after a moment the doors opened to reveal one of his students. "Ah Jiraya-kun, I was already awaiting you." spoke Sarutobi. Jiraya of the Sannin was a tall man, a white wild mane of hair on his head, as he walked up to Sarutobis desk hey greeted his teacher. "Sensei, it's only a few days before the boy would enter the academy, shouldn't we just let him grow up as a ninja like everyone else?" he spoke with a deep, calm voice, he sat down on front of his Hokage and Sensei. "Minato's instructions are very clear and I will not doubt his judgements nor ignore his wishes..." he sighed "... Also with the preparations Minato made years ago I doubt we will have much a say in it anyway, someone will come to pick up the boy any day now and i would rather not try and stop them in the confines of the village. " the Hokage stated. Jiraya nodded although not contempt, he closed his eyes for a moment. " I want to take the boy under my wing once he comes back, he is gonna need someone to help him settle back in, from what I know, alltough not much, life must be very different there..."

They conversed for hours after that all the while the night fell over the village hidden in the leafs.


	2. chapter 2 - Departure

Chapter 2 - Departure

The next morning, when the first sunshine kissed the streets of downtown Konoha, a young Naruto was already sitting at his small table in his apartment, which was in serious need of renovation.

He was still half asleep, sitting wobbly and looming over a bowl of cereal and milk. He hadn't been sleeping well last night, thoughts of doubt had troubled him while going to bed like on most days and after that it was a rough night of strange dreams.

As he sat there contemplating what to do with this new day a thought crossed his mind. " _Only a few more days till academy starts, things are gonna be better soon, dattebayo!"_ A cheerfull smile on his face he looked out the window, it was going to be a sunny day and with some pleasant thoughts for once he would try to make the best of it.

Just when he was about to get up and set the empty bowl in the sink he heard a knock on the door followed by a familiar voice, one of the few voices even that could make him smile and didn't foreshadow possible harm. "Naruto-chan are you awake already?" asked the rough elderly voice of the Hokage.

With an even brighter smile on his face, young Naruto immediately went to answer the door. "HOKAGE-Jiji..." he cheered only for his voice to die down when his beloved grandfather figure turned out not to be the only visitor on this sunny morning.

"Good morning Naruto-chan" spoke the elder while he ruffled the boys hair in a loving gesture. "This is Jiraya of the Sannin, one of my students, will you sit with us for a while, Naruto?"

Naruto stared at the white haired Sage for a moment before it hit him and his eyes went wide. "The legendary Toad Sage?!" he asked in an erratic voice.

Jiraya smiled at him before he suddenly struck a pose and exclaimed "Jiraya of the Sannin legendary Toad Sage of Mount Myoboko and self proclaimed super pervert!"

Silence fell... Jiraya sweated and everyone moved inside to sit down.

The Sandaime indulged in some idle chit chat with Naruto, while the Sannin seemed to take a closer look at the apartment noticing just how run down it really was. After a few "How have you beens" Naruto spoke up "Aren't you a week early for your visit Jiji?"

Sarutobi first gave a silent nod to Jiraya and then with suddenly having a very serious look on his face he addressed Naruto

"We are here to discuss an important matter with you Naruto, perhaps the most important in your young life." Sarutobi gave a moment to let it sink in to the boys head so he would concentrate and listen. "There is no easy way of saying such things to anyone so I'm gonna be upfront with you."

Narutos little chest clenched tight for a moment, from experience he expected the worst, would he be barred from entering the academy, or worse? He sat straight and looked at the old man.

" Your father was the fourth Hokage, Naruto and on his and your mother's dying breath he sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into you, believing that you would one day be able to wield it's power and achieve great things. He did this because no mortal man could have just killed the Fox and he had no other way of saving the village. " Sarutobi tried to speak in a calm manner but he struggled to do so.

That was a huge thing to suddenly drop on a six year old, and it showed. Naruto was stunned silent for once, his eyes growing tall and tears forming on his face. For some moments the only sound in the room was the sound of small water droplets hitting the wooden floor boards.

"Is that...?" was the only thing the child could choke out with a rasping voice.

"Yes it is true and it is also the reason why some ignorant fools choose to burden you with their own grief. I am deeply sorry that I had to hold back on this to you until now, it was for your own good, your father made lots of powerful enemies that were sure to go after your life if word came out." Explained the third Hokage, seeing the child before him almost falling apart pressed hard on him.

Silence, broken by occasional sobs, fell over the small apartment again.

When Naruto seemed to have calmed down a little, Sarutobi took a framed picture from his robes and gave it to the boy. "These are you parents Naruto, your mothers name was Uzumaki Kushina, they loved each other very much and they couldn't wait for the day you were to be born. "

Hearing this, the dam broke in Naruto and he started crying realising that these people on that old picture were indeed his parents and that they had loved him.

Jiraya went behind the boy and put his hands on the child's small shoulders. "Your father was my student, and the best I ever had. He named your godfather a few days before you were born, I never felt so honored in my entire life... Naruto I'm very sorry I haven't been there for you, I have been on a mission for years... If.. If I had known... "

Immediately giving in to the loving embrace he had been denied for most of his life Naruto managed to calm down again in a reasonable matter of time.

Sarutobi continued. "Your father was a wise man in his days so he accounted for something like the Kyuubi attack to happen, the truth is Naruto... Someone attacked Konoha on that day to gain control over the Kyuubi, taking it from its former host, your mother and trying to destroy Konoha. " he paused for a moment so the information could sink in.

"Naruto you will be leaving the village for some time, someone, a friend of your father whom he made a deal with in order to cover these exact event will come here and take you away, in order to train you and make you strong."

Naruto was starting to form a question when suddenly both the Hokage and the Sannin, quickly shifted their positions and got in their respective fighting stances, shuffling Naruto behind them. They were facing the door to Naruto's bedroom as if it were the most dangerous thing in the world. Naruto didn't understand.

The next moment the air in front of the bedroom door started to shift and phase and within seconds a tall figure could be seen standing there, hands held up in a manner to show he meant no harm.

The stranger was really tall, he seemed to be crooking his neck in order to not bump his head on the ceiling, most of his features were still conseiled by dark brown leather hooded mantle. Without moving even an inch the strange visitor spoke up, with a deep booming voice, rough yet not hostile in tone.

"I mean no harm, my name is Arai-te and I am here for the young one, as was negotiated between Namikaze Minato and my Lord."

Slowly everyone in the room relaxed, Sarutobi and Jiraya dropping their stances, they didn't know what or whom to expect, the Sandaime Hokage gestured the now identified intruder to move closer and spoke up, very aware of the powerful presence of his vis-a-vis.

"Forgive me my ignorance, Arai-te-san, but who would your lord be? We don't have much information at hand regarding this matter."

To answer to that the huge person stepped closer, lifting his hood and dropping the coat in the process, revealing himself.

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes for a brief moment. He just gazed calmly in return, seemingly having expected such a reaction.

He stood at least 8 feet tall, and must have weighed at around 500 lbs at the least with all the muscle.

He clearly wasn't human, thick dark green scales that looked tough, a face like a predatory dinosaur with white hair growing in between short horns that grew backwards out of his had, the hair was bound in a braid as long as down to his knees. He wore simple dark linen clothing with some leather pouches strapped to a belt around the waist.

He didn't wear shoes or anything for footwear, how would he even with these massive dark claws on his toes. His big hands had only four fingers that were armed with sharp claws as well.

"My Lord, the great Father of the Dragonfolk, Keeper of the world flame and Warden of the Otherrealm, known to our people as Kodai, sends his regards to you, Hokage-sama"

Both the Hokage and Jiraya sank to take a seat after that statement. The Dragonfolk was supposed to be stuff of legends, alltough comparable to the toads of Myuboko Mountain, nobody has ever heard of them making any contact to the human realm or even being summoned by anyone in recent history. How Minato had come to known them, and their supposed leader at that, they had no idea.

But it didn't matter at the moment anyway, they sent for Naruto already and they had a feeling there was nothing they could do if things should get out of hand.

Arai-te took a few slow steps closer to Naruto and sank to a knee, still having to look down at him as he spoke.

"It seems I have revealed myself a little early, you don't have to be afraid young one. We are going to keep our promise to your parent and take good care of you."

Even as inexperienced as a child could be Naruto very well understood the situation, glancing at the two elder Shinobi in the room, he knew from how they looked that there would probably be no discussions in this, so he had just one question.

"When will I be able to come back? I can't be Hokage if I'm not even here!" he started in a very low voice but grew louder with the last part.

"The contract says that we shall release you back to the human world once the great Kodai deems you ready. How long this will take is entirely up to you young one." he paused for a moment. "Now get your things together, we will leave immediately." was the Dragonkin's answer.

After that Arai-te sat down in a lotus position and simply started waiting for Naruto, meanwhile Sarutobi and Jiraya were frantic but realized quite quickly that this was it... So they both got up to embrace Naruto one after the other, shaking him out of the stupor that recent shock had caused and starting to bid him their farewells.

Many tears were shed for some long moments. But when the giant scaled warrior on the floor cleared his throat, Naruto shuffled quickly the begin packing some stuff, the few clothes he had and the things of his personal hygiene... Basically all he had.

When Arai-te gestured the boy to hold on to his hand, Naruto turned to his elders on last time in a long time, "Goodbye Jiji, keep my seat warm."

And in a puff of smoke, he was gone.


	3. Chapter 3 - Split Roads

**Chapter 3 - Split Roads**

A few days after a certain blonde haired pranksters sudden disappearance was the day of days for a whole new generation of Konoha Kunoichi and Shinobi.

It was a foggy Monday morning on one of the first days of fall in the land of fire.

It was the first day of academy, finally.

The students were rummaging amongst their seats having little conversations as they have been waiting for a while now. All the seats in class were taken except for one.

 _"Where could Naruto-kun be?"_ thought a little girl with soft blue hair and lavender eyes.

When the door opened and their sensei stepped in the room the atmosphere turned calm as everyone sat silent in their seats.

Umino Iruka, a young man with a spiky brown ponytail and a scar all across his faces. Going over the class list he noticed a few things, for once he had young members of most of Konoha notable clans amongst his ranks for this year. And also there was a name that had been canceled out on his list, and it made him wonder too.

 _"What about the Uzumaki kid?_ " he thought before addressing the class and starting to introduce himself.

"Welcome to Konohas Shinobi Academy class, as of today you are starting on your career as Konoha's finest future Shinobi, I expect everyone to do their best and work their hardest at all times."

He gave a small pause and continued.

"My name is Umino Iruka and I am gonna be your sensei from today on. You are my responsibility from now on until you graduate, everyevery hour of everyday and I will be sure to hold anyone acting up responsible for that..."

After that they did some introductions on eveyone and began to have class at a slow pace.

 **A few days earlier - unknown location**

The very moment Naruto and Arai-te materialized the young boy immediatly fealt a strange weight on his body, as if he suddenly gained a lot of weight, when trying to move his limbs, he realized his movements were very sluggish and out of synch. Other than that it was very hot and humid.

"Where are we, whats happening to me?" he asked.

"This is the realm of the Dragonfolk Naruto, things are very different here from what you know. That weight gain you might experienced is caused by a higher measure of gravity around here. It is normal to us though and you will get used to it too."

It immediatly dawned on Naruto what it could be like returning home after spending years in this kind of environment...

Taking a look around the young blonde took in the surroundings, they appeared in a big meadow surrounded by what looked to be aequatorial woods. The sky had a strange color to it and the air was thick and moist. He could make out some impressive mountainside in the far distance, but what wondered him was that there were no signs of any civilization whatsoever all around him and as far as he could see. He started to move around a bit whilst his guardian was just standing there giving him time to adjust.

"So, what´s going on here? Where is everyone?" asked one baffled blond boy.

"We all live at the foot of the great mountain. But that is not were we are going." Arai-te stated. "The younglings like you are, are kept separeted from the village until they come of a certain age, they live in a small kind of town with some guardians, it will be a week of marching through the forrest until we get there."

Naruto stared at him.

"What the hell? Why wouldn´t you take us there directly instead of the middle of nowhere?!"

"It is simple, by the time we get there, you will be used to the extra weight on you... now go, try to keep up..." The Dragonkin simply turned around and started to walk in a leisurly pace, well a leisurly pace for him, because of his height he made huge steps so Naruto really had to struggle keeping up right of the bat.

For a while they just walked, homing in onto the edge of the woods, slowly. After some time Naruto noticed something, since meeting him he had never see Arai-te from behind, and now that he did...

"Hey Arai-te-san, what´s that weird looking stump on your butt?" ,the young boy asked curiously.

"That´s were my tail used to be, Gaki." He sounded annoyed his rough voice sounded strained at that notion, and if he could have seen his face, Naruto would have noticed a vein bulging on his scaly temples.

After they entered the woods the had to go even slower, the young Uzumaki had to give it his all for every single meter of the dense jungle, whilst even though he was so huge, Arai-te seemed to be able to move through the thick bush without even breaking a sweat... that is if he could even sweat. Arai-te didn´t try to usher the boy to move any faster, nor did he make any comments on his progress, he simply waited in silent patience.

The moved through the whole day, taking a break when Naruto felt like he needed it, until long shadows started to dip the thick of the forrest into darkness. Saying that the made camp on the first evening would be an overexaggeration, at some point Arai-te simply decided it was time to stop, and sat down, leaning against a treetrunk, realising that it was over for the day, Naruto momentarily collapsed onto his back.

Catching his breath, he stared into the jungle canopy, he couldn´t tell for how long. He noticed what he had definitely missed throughout the day when he had to use all focus and willpower just to keep moving. The forrest was stunningly beautiful, with the last light falling sparsely through the treetops, long shadows and everything colored in the light of the dark orange evening sky. All the plants seemed to be big strong and healthy, the trees had huge leaves to catch the sunlight and there was colour everywhere.

As the light gave away to darkness a cool breeze flowed along forrest flow, and young Naruto endulged in it, the scene was serene... until a loud rummaging stirred through the deep forrest, causing an outcry from various birds and other animals, when silence fell, Naruto spoke to the Dragonkin.

"Do you have any Ramen here my stomach is acting up already?!"

After steadily going thorugh some handsigns Arai-te simply touched the floor for a moment and than stood up.

"I will hunt for us, i have put up a ward around this area, don´t move to far, the wildlife can be very dangerous here, best will be you stay like that and rest..." With that he disappeared into the jungle, without a sound or a hint of his presence left.

Naruto fell long unconscious before Arai-te could return with something that could be described as a small wood deer on his shoulders, whatever they boy could eat in the morning too...

Four days later on the late afternoon, and after what felt like hours of beeing able to hear it, Naruto and Arai-te had made their way to the top of a very deep waterfall, thousands of gallons of water crashing down bold rock, forming a deep ravine in the middle of the jungle, around the waterfall the terrain would drop very steep, bold rock walls going straight down in some places even.

From the ravine sprung a mighty river, having eaten it´s way through the landscapes since the beginning of time.

Taking in the stunning sight in the late aftertnoon sun, Naruto felt much better now after his fourth day in the strange environment, he could almost move normal now, and they had made some progress on their journey up until now. Staring in the distance Arai-te pointed along the stream.

"The town we are going to is just beyond the horizon along the river, have you been told how to swim, young one?" he almost had to scream at Naruto over the deafening thunder of the waterfall.

Naruto simply nodded, feeling that he would not have been able to scream an answer over the sound of the water. Arai-te simply got on a knee and gestured Naruto to come closer, and as he did the huge warrior just pulled him tight to his chest. "Hold on tight." he spoke into the boys ear. Naruto was baffled at first, he noticed a radiant warmth coming from the scaled beast that was his chosen guardian for the time beeing, but that was instantaniously unimportant as soon as he realised what was going to happen.

And on that, Arai-te got up, holding Naruto tight to his chest, and jumped down the waterfall.

 **End of the third day of academy - Konohagakure no Sato**

There were was a sudden commotion outside of Sarutobi Hiruzen´s office, rumbling and bluster could be heard and suddenly the door to the Hokage´s office burst open. Without a suprised look upon his face the Hokage gestured everyone to stop moving, as two ANBU guards, driven back in to a corner by a young Hyuuga Hinata fell backwards into the room, and the hidden ANBU in the room moved to drop the perpetrator.

Releasing her Byakugan and dropping to her stance, Hinata immediatly started to cry. "Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama, my friend, he is missing, he must have been taken, or worse..." she managed to croak through her tears...

* * *

 **AN: I am overwhelmed by the number of follows and favourites i got before i released this chapter. Thank you everyone, i appreciate it very much and i feel encouraged to not let anyone day, just as is the spirit of the whole Naruto franchise.**

 **So with this chapter i think it start´s to become at least somewhat clear what the idea might be or where this might be going, to be honest im working from a rough idead here, making details up along the way.**

 **please enjoy and give me your constructive critisicsm as you see fit.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Exchange Student

**AN: So there has been some reviews already, thank you for that everyone. There hasnt been much substantial critique in those, except for the wish for longer chapters, which i will gladly fullfill.**

Chapter 4 - Exchange Student

 **The Hokages Office - Evening on the 3rd day of the new academy cycle**

"Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama, my friend, he is missing, he must have been taken, or worse..." were the only words she could get out before having a hysterical breakdown, only moments after the young Hyuuga heiress had burst into Sarutobi Hiruzens office. One quick grasp by an ANBU operative later, an uncomfortable silence befell the room, if alone for a brief moment. After regaining his composure the Sandaime Hokage immediatley started to issue orders in a calm and collected manner.

"Lion-san, get the girl to a medic and have me informed when she is awake and in a stable condition." He adressed one particular operative that was part of his personal guard for the day. "The rest of you, get a grip on yourselves and back to your posts, before i remind myself that you could not stop a six year old girl from entering my office unannounced." After that he sank to his seat, with a deep sigh and frown on his face.

On one side he was very glad that at least someone showed up to ask for the blond knucklehead, on the other hand this could get very inconvenient. He hoped that, at least for a while, regarding the fact that most people didnt like the young Uzumaki, there wouldnt be any questions asked. Well almost three full days of peace is all he got, and he hadnt had a single good idea how to explain this away should certain people start asking questions. Without even beeing anywhere near at the moment, the thought of the civilian counsils outcry already started to give him a headache.

Hiruzen was about to start rubbing his temples, thinking about calling it quits for the day and just going home, when suddenly with a cracking sound and some smoke, another uninvited visitor appeared in front of the desk of Konohas leader. The ANBU guards had the intruder surrounded and at the tips of their blades within less than a heartbeat, having still been tense from the commotion before. The clearing of the vapor however seemed to reveal something startling to them, as they all shifted to more defensive stances almost immediately.

The Kage just looked at the intruder, he had propped his head on his hands, using his arms to support the heavy thoughts in the back of his mind. From the looks of it he had a good idea to which faction this guest would belong. The clearing smoke revealed what he was suspecting to be a younger, most probably male, member of the Dragonfolk, though he could not even beginn to guess his age, the Hokage took in the intruders features.

First thing he noticed was that this one, though similar per se, looked vastly different from the warrior he had met just days ago. Around 5,5 feet tall, weighing an estimated 175 lbs. His facial features were much slimmer and smoother then what he remembered the other Dragonkin to look like, also he didnt have any horns, nor was there any sign of hair growing out of that thick predatory skull. His frame was much finer, less bulky but still clearly powerful, also the claws on his hands and feet werent that prominent. Whilst Arai-te had dark green scaled skin, this ones scales were in various tones of red and orange arranged in a spotted kind of pattern. What stood out the most however was, that behind this ones back, a long and seemingly armored tail swayed side to side ever so lightly. He wore similar linen clothing, like what the Hokage could see on Arai-te when he came to get Naruto a few days ago, only this ones clothing seemed more suited to cold weather, with thicker fabric and generally covering more of his body.

Analyzing the newcomer only took mere milliseconds for the experienced, elder warrior. Holding one hand up he gestured his guards to stand down, and so they did. Immediately after beeing given the space, the intruder fell to a knee, holding up a scroll for the villages leader, before beginning to speak.

"Hokage-sama" he adressed the elder, giving a pause out of respect. "My name is Takeo, i have been sent here on orders of the great Kodai. I have brought to you the original contract that came about between the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato-sama and Kodai-sama, many years ago." he gave another pause, which the Hokage used to have an ANBU take the scroll and hand it to him, wistfully he cracked open the seal of his supposed successor and started to look the paper over. "Please stand at ease, Takeo-san, while i get a look at this", muttered the Sandaime whilst already digging through the script.

The visitor did as he was told and proceeded to stand whilst propping himself on his strong scaly tail. He seemed to be taking in his surroundings, his gaze lingering on the large windows, that currently showed a nightly Konoha, illuminated by street lamps.

After a while the elder man sitting at the desk looked up, completely baffled. Taking a moment to regain his composure he gestured for his ANBU to leave the room, putting up privacy seals at a moments notice. Within seconds, there were only two people left in the room, beeing the Hokage and Takeo of the Dragonfolk. There was a lot on the mind of Sarutobi Hiruzen at that moment, but he had to adress the most pressing matter first. Before adressing his visitor, Sarutobi decided to take a smoke from his trusted pipe first, taking his time, putting some tobacco in the piece, lighting it and inhaling, he blew the smoke with a deep sigh.

"So, you are to stand in for little Naruto, as some kind of exchange student, is that correct?", "Yes, Hokage-sama." came the answer in short. "And how am i supposed to explain this to the public of Konoha?" Sarutobi asked more to himself with another deep sigh, his headache getting worse by the minute. Takeo looked at him, cocking his head lightly, as if he didnt understand, after a short moment of silence he spoke up, "Forgive me Hokage-sama, i dont seem to understand what the problem is, you seem to be making some kind of secret out of this, why is that so?" and with that, the revelation hit the elder Kage like a truck, since Naruto wouldnt be here for a long while, there wouldnt actually be any reason anymore for all the secrecy around his person. All that was about keeping the boy safe after all, and as it stood now, nobody would be able to touch him anyway.

With a small smile forming on his wrinkled face, the Hokage began to explain all the circumstances to his visitor, and soon-to-be stand-in Shinobi. The whole story around Uzumaki Naruto seemed to confuse Takeo however, after the Hokage finished explaining all that transpired with the boy, and why he had to keep it all secret, Takeo spoke up again, "It seems there are grave differences between the human society and ours, i havent been able to learn much as we only have sparse and very old information about the human world, as we choose to not interfere with your kind a long time ago, or so i have been told."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, putting away his pipe, stood up from his seat with renewed vigor, going over to Takeo he extended his hand in a welcoming manner. Seemingly understanding the gesture, the scaled visitor got up from leaning on his own tail, returning the gesture, they both shook hands. "You are going to be learning a lot about us in the oncoming time then, Takeo-san. But please, tell me about yourself first.", Hiruzen gestured for his visitor to take a proper seat on one of the couches in the Hokages office. Takeo complied, seemingly having a little problem getting comfortable, with the piece of furniture not beeing designed around people with tails, he had to shift around a lot before finding a way to sit, Sarutobi had to stiffle a laugh at the sight. After settling in, Takeo asked, "What would you like to know, Hokage-sama ?"

The Hokage, beeing intrigued over learning about a whole different culture, had lots of questions for sure, but all that would come with some time he thought, starting simple would be the best course of action now. "So whats your position in Dragonfolk society, why have you been chosen to be sent here, Takeo-san?" was the first thing that came to his mind clearly. "Oh im still a youngling, adolescent if you so like, and i am still beeing taught in the arts, but I aim to be an assistant to Kodai-sama once i reach adulthood." stated Takeo, still shifting around slighty uncomfortable. "How old are you exactly?" asked a baffled Hokage. "Well i have been told my age would account for around 12 earth years, its a little complicated as it seems the flow of time works a little different here."

The Hokage sank to the couch, next to his visitor. "You are still a child then? I would never have guessed.", "I just moved in with the other adolescents some time ago, as one of the youngest, as i said things work very much different in the Otherrealm." stated Takeo.

The kept talking for a while, the scaled youth explaining some things to the Hokage. Sarutobi learned that there really are grave differences in how the societies of the two species work, like how there was no such concept as marriage with the Dragonfolk, or how they keep their children, adolescents and adults separated from each other, in whole different villages entirely, with only a few adults teaching and keeping watch over the young. With the reason beeing that, the Dragonfolks population beeing kind of small, only a few thousands after some devastating event a long time ago, they had to adapt to that in order to avoid inbreeding, changing their society completely.

Takeo explained that, in order to procreate, a female would select a partner that would serve its purpose in regards of keeping their genepool in order and that the adults of his species wouldnt form relationships like he learned the humans would, but would rather view themselves as one huge clan where everyone would be rather close to each other, like one big family of sorts. Needless to say Sarutobi found that thought to be rather awkward, but of course he wouldnt jugde. He also learned that every single one of the Dragonfolk would be trained in the arts of war from a very young age, simply because they werent the only ones living in the Otherrealm, with wars and rivalry between the species, just like in the human world.

Sarutobi could only wonder what living there for years would do to a human child, and why Minato choose this course of action exactly.

In return, the Sandaime Hokage tried to explain some about life in a shinobi village and how humans would tend to behave in general. Sarutobi explained the history of Konoha, and what the current situation, especially regarding Naruto was. There was a lot of information to exchange here, and a lot to think about too. After a while, just when the scaled exchange shinobi was about to explain what values the Dragonfolk where holding, like how their allegiance to each other and the well being of every single one of them was very important in their society, the Hokage noticed that the sun was already beginning to rise over the forrests outside of Konoha, he had enjoyed the conversation and missed how much time has passed.

And just like that there was a knock on the door, and the voice of one of his trusted ANBU guards could be heard, "Hokage-sama, i came to report that Hyuuga Hinata has regained conciousness"

 **With Naruto - location unkown**

It was the sound of cawwing from a flock of birds in the jungles canopy that pulled Narutos consciousness back to the surface, he must have fainted from the sudden plunge into the ravine. Coming to his senses, the boy soon realised that he was floating along the calm waters of the mighty river he had just seen from atop the waterfall, how long ago that was... he couldnt tell. The feeling of the cool water, having washed away all the sweat and grime from days making their way through the jungle felt like absolute bliss to the young wanna-be-Hokage. It took some moments for the daze to leave his mind before he realised that he wasnt actually contributing anything to stay afloat in the water, and that it was actually his caretaker of the Dragonfolk that kept him from drowing by having Naruto laying on his upper body, while Arai-te was steering them through the river. The guy was so big, he could actually use him like a float.

The radiant warmth on his back gave it away even before Naruto could turn his head to look around. "How long have i been out?" asked Naruto. "Its been some minutes, nothing to worry about." Came the answer. The small boy could feel the vibration from the scaled warriors voice throughout all his body and had to wonder what it would be like if that guy ever decided to really make use of his voice.

When Naruto started to shift in order to get off his guardian to swim for himself, a strong hand gripped him by the collar of what was left of his jacket, picking him up and sat him back down in a sitting position on Arai-tes chest, facing him. "Youve done well so far, get some rest youngling." Facing the direction they were traveling down the stream now, Naruto noticed that they were making good pace just by floating along the river. Taking in the sight of the mighty stream, the dark waters and the overgrown riversides, the last Uzumaki had to wonder where this would all lead him to in the end.

"Ryu-jiisan, whats going to happen after we arrive at this village or wherever you are taking me?" questioned the blonde knuckelhead, looking at his jungle tour guide. Arai-tes eyes, that had been staring to the sky in a carefree manner, focused on the human child sitting on his chest. Naruto didnt have a calm moment with any energy left for days now, and so this was the first time he could even get a good look at the Dragonkins eyes, slitted pupils surrounded by a toxic green iris in a clear white sclera.

"We are heading to the village where our youngest are brought up and taught in our ways, you will meet your first teacher there, but honestly i dont know with what kind of curriculum the elders came up for you, you will have to see. But i think whats going to happen first is, that you are gonna learn how our society works and how our kind operates in general." told Arai-te over the sound of the stream.

"Is your kind really that much different?" Having started on the matter kept the questions bubbling in Narutos head. Arai-tes answer came with a little surprise, "I have been shadowing you for a whole while before we first met in that small den of yours, boy. I havent been able to figure you humans out in that time and that should tell you enough about how much of a differences there are..." came the cryptic answer from the Dragonfolk warrior.

Naruto was about to ask another question, when suddenly he felt that Arai-te grabbed him by the collar again, the warrior shot out of the water with Naruto in hand, the boy could only wonder about his swift movements, when after a single heartbeat the water stirred and a mighty serpents jaw shot out from the river, where they had just been. Gasping and with wide eyes the boy got a good look at the beast, its head was huge and could have swallowed them both hole like three or four times over.

But just as sudden as it came it was gone again, and Arai-te landed gracefully along the riverbanks with Naruto in hand. The tailless warrior put the boy on his own feet and shuffled him behind himself, shielding him away from the riverside. "Stay on your guard, boy, those things dont give up that easily." he told, dropping to a kind of fighting stance momentarily. A dreadful quiet filled the landscape, all the animals had fallen quiet, and the only sound was coming from the river. Arai-te closed his eyes in concentration, knowing what would happen, he focused on his sense of hearing.

Suddenly and without beeing able to comprehend what was really happening, Naruto was shoved to the side, when a huge splash occured from the river and the serpent shot out of the waters surface, aiming his mighty jaws straight at Arai-te. Falling to his side, the young Uzumaki got a good look at the beast for a moment, as its whole body shot at his guardian, it had to be at least 50 ft long, before Naruto even touched the ground the serpent was right in the Dragonkins face. The next thing Naruto could perceive was a loud booming sound, ringing in his ears and the sight of the serpent disintegrating into a bloody mist that sprayed all over the area in just the next moment.

Lying on his back on the muddy riverbank, the young blonde stared at Arai-te with wide eyes, he couldnt even perceive that the warrior had moved at all, but it was obvious that he had disposed of the threat, evident by the blood that was scattered all over them both and much of the landscape around them.

Taking a steady breath, Arai-te straightened himself into a standing position, looking at the boy that was still prone on his back between leaves, mud and lots of blood. Walking over and extending a hand to hold on for the boy he asked Naruto if he was alright, but the young Uzumaki was still in shock of what had just transpired before his eyes.

Deciding it wouldnt be wise to stay around for any longer, he picked the stunned and bloodied boy up from the ground, cradling him to his chest in his arms, getting in the river again for a moment in order to get rid of the mess, he then took to running along on the waters surface with incredible speed, in order to get the boy to the village already.

After a while when Naruto came back to his senses, he would let Arai-te know that he was okay now. "Thank Ryuu-jiisan, thank you for saving me," the boy spoke in a low voice. He wouldnt admit it but it felt so nice beeing cradled like that. "Think nothing of it young one, since you are practically going to be one of us, we wont let any harm befall you, and thats a promise, and just like me, none of the Dragonfolk would ever go back on their word, thats just our way." was Arai-tes answer. Stopping for a moment he would then let Naruto ride him piggyback for the rest of the way.

After some hours, when the sun began to set, Naruto would notice some wooden docks with simple, yet rather large wooden boats tied to it. "We are almost there youngling, you can look forward to a nice meal and a soft bed already." After some more minutes of Arai-te running over the water with Naruto at a breack-neck speed, they would then leave the river, finding themselves on a small path leading through the dense jungle. Coming to a stop, the Dragonfolk warrior set Naruto down to walk the rest of the way by himself, twenty minutes later the forrest would start to clear and give way to a landscape of mellow grassland, a village clearly visible along the path.

It was already getting dark when they came in close vicinity of the village, large timber-framed stone buildings started beeing visible in torchlight, a lone figure seemed to be waiting for them, where the path would end and give way to the paved village grounds.

"Oh my, the human youngling is so much cuter than i even imagined." said a clearly feminine voice, alltough still pretty rough sounding, by humand standards of course. Cleary looking up to her, Naruto took in the features of the female Dragonkin, she was clearly smaller then Arai-te, but still at least 7 ft. tall, and way less bulky, but still seemed clearly powerfull. She had no horns like Arai-te but had long dark brown dreadlocked hair done in a put-up hairdo with long dreadlocks falling free down her back and some over her shoulders. Her face was much finer and slimmer than Arai-tes too, with dark violett eyes, flashing sharp, pristine white teeth with her smile. Her feminine form was covered in a sleeveless, beige linen-dress, with a black sash around her waist.

"Kamiko-dono," greeted Arai-te, bowing to her. She nodded and smiled to him. "Arai-kun, you are days early, thats not like you." She stated, but somehow she couldnt take her eyes off the young human boy for long, which serverd to make him nervous, and unconciously he kind of hid behind Arai-tes legs because of that. The male warrior explained to her how they have been attacked by the serpent, forcing him to pick up the pace afterwards. He made clear that the human youngling made good progress in adapting to the environment.

Seeing how the boy seemed to be afraid, she got down on her knees and smiled at him. "Hey little one, dont be afraid, I am going to be your foster mother from now on after all."

 **AN: So i hope you guys like what i came up with. Chapters are gonna get longer in the future, but that also means i will take longer coming up with and writing them.**

 **Also thanks to my friend Lokor Kitsune, who volunteered to proofread and correct my stuff from now on.**

 **Let me know what you guys think, if you like.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Childhood

**Chapter 5 - Childhood**

"Kamiko-dono," greeted Arai-te, bowing to her. She nodded and smiled to him. "Arai-kun, you are days early, thats not like you." She stated, but somehow she couldnt take her eyes off the young human boy for long, which serverd to make him nervous, and unconciously he kind of hid behind Arai-tes legs because of that. The male warrior explained to her how they have been attacked by the serpent, forcing him to pick up the pace afterwards. He made clear that the human youngling made good progress in adapting to the environment.

Seeing how the boy seemed to be afraid, she got down on her knees and smiled at him. "Hey little one, dont be afraid, I am going to be your foster mother from now on after all."

* * *

The small blond human seemed to have been stunned out of his mind, he was just standing there, looking straight ahead with cerulean eyes. At that moment, when the last of the sun dove behind the horizon, with a gust of wind racing over the landscape, for just a few seconds, the only sounds to be heard where the wind and the flickering torches. Naruto snapped out of it the next second when a huge hand ruffled his hair. "I´ll be taking my leave now, be good youngling." Again Arai-te bowed to Kamiko. "I´ll be around when it´s my time to train the boy. So long Kamiko-dono." and with that he turned around and started walking. "Goodbye!" shouted Naruto, with a wave.

After saying their goodbyes, Kamiko had stepped up next to Naruto, extending a hand for him to take. "Don´t be shy youngling, I won´t bite", she said in what the young Uzumaki guessed, was her sweet voice. A sweet smile forming on the boys face, he took her up on her offer, and she began to lead him farther along the paved walkway, and into the premisses.

The Village was located on soft grassy hills just beyond the dense forrest and touched by a curve of the mighty stream that sprang forth deep in the mountains far behind the horizon. Wide land, with occasional single trees and some large rock formations scattered about as far as the eye could see. The village itself was only 5 of those larger stone buildings, and 2 smaller houses. Well everything was quite big compared to Naruto of course.

The female Dragonkin´s hands were much more slender than Arai-tes, but they still felt strong, the touch of the scaled fingers was surprisingly soft to Naruto. Kamiko led the boy in the direction of one of the smaller buildings. "You aren´t hurt anywere, are you?" The blond shook his head, all the while looking around with big eyes. The buildings, the walkways and everything in general seemed to be very well crafted to him. A loud growl erupted from the boys stomach and it made a chuckle escape from Kamiko´s throat. "So you want to get some dinner before i show you to your bedroom?" Another grumbling was the answer to that.

The house was definetly built for the people of the Dragonfolk, a wooden frame door surrounded by cool stone wall led into the building, surprisingly, inside there seemed to be furniture for adult Dragonkin and some much smaller, Naruto would later learn that Dragonkin would come into the world as rather small beeings and grew to spectacular size and bulk over the course of time. And this village was supposed to be for bringing up their offspring.

Young Naruto was lead into a kitchen and dining area, where he seated himself to a very well crafted wooden table, alltough it showed many signs of time having passed since it had been crafted. Kamiko vanished down a flight off wooden stairs into the cold storage room in the cellar, coming back with a variety of cooking ingredients. Naruto looked around the room, with its nicely crafted wooden walls and floors, covered with some woolen area rugs, that felt very nice against ones feet. Some of the walls were covered with childrens painintgs, some of them done by obviously very talented kids.

He watched Kamiko as she knealt in front of the iron stove, loading it with some wood, and igniting it by breathing a small flame from her lungs, without any handsigns or incantation. After she sat up some water to boil, the female would then kneel to the opposite side of the table. In the well lit room he could recognise her scales colors for the first time, dark, matte blue and broad white blueish stripes. While waiting for the water to boil, she explained to him that there were currently around 35 children in the village, with her and two other adult Dragonkin as their guardians and teachers. As for why exactly the children lived seperatly from the adult population she wouldn´t want to tell him as of yet.

"You are going to meet them all tomorrow, I´ll explain alot more after you got some good sleep.", stated Kamiko as she got up when the water finally boiled and she went about putting ingredients and some spices into it. After a while a hearty smell started to fill the room. While stirring the pot with the stew contained, Kamiko hummed a little calming tune.

Naruto felt it was very nice, it was warm and save, and alltough he just arrived he didn´t feel like a stranger. And there was this woman, standing by the stove who had earlier proclaimed she was going to be his mom for a while. Her cooking smelt enticing, alltough it was obviously not Ramen. While the stew was bubbling about, Kamiko set a a pitcher off cristal clear water and some glasses on the table, pouring a serving for each of them. And after a while a bowl of delicious smelling, spicy reddish meat stew was sat in front of Naruto, thanking Kamkiko he dug in, and he loved it instantly, it could have been his second favourite dish from now on...

After the meal that was mostly silent, except for some small talk, Naruto fell tired quickly and so after a wash in the shared bathroom, he was shown to his room. It was equipped with a cosy looking bed, a desk with a stool, some cupboards and a wardrobe. A single window gave view to the moonlight. After unsealing his stuff, Kamiko left him to himself, changing into his pyjamas he slipped in the large, wooden-framed bed, with a nice matress and soft sheets that smelt of flowers, he slipped into a dream within minutes.

* * *

 **Konohagakure no Sato - Afternoon, the same day**

Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamara and Akimichi Chouji were the best of friends since they could remember, but today was unlike any other day to could remember from their young lives. Just some hours before, the Hokage himself had given the order for every citizen of Konoha, Shinobi and civilian alike, to gather at the plaza in front of the Hokage-tower, and of course, everyone except the Shinobi out on missions, followed suit.

The three young academy Genin had gathered at a playground they usually met at. There was silence between them before Shikimaru, sitting on a bench, head in the clouds, spoke up first. "Now that i think about it, it was pretty obvious, i mean when you look at pictures of the Yondaime Hokage, you can easily imagine him looking just like Naruto when he was our age."

"To think that he would seal the Kyuubi away inside his own infant child, it must have felt horrible to him." stated Ino, situated on the swing set. "Did you see the faces on some of the adults?" asked Chouji, "most of them seemed to know the part with the demon fox, but many of them seemed to feel guilty in the end." Both of them looked at him, "Sure, most of them treated Naruto like he wasn´t even there, and now they hear that he is the only child of the Yondaime Hokage, and last heir to two of Konohas most prominent clans." answered Shikamaru, with a bored expression.

"So what do guys think of that whole situation with the summons clan, sending Naruto off to another dimension entirely seems pretty extreme." Ino asked their friends, swinging back and forth ever so lightly. Again it was Shikimaru speaking up, all the while looking at the clouds, "It´s the Yondaime Hokage´s wishes, i´m sure he knew what he was doing when he came up with it, personally i think it´s pretty genius, none of the Yondaime´s enemies will be able to touch Naruto where he is, let alone find him."  
"We may even get some new allies from this." stated Chouji, thinking about that scaled dinosaur guy the Hokage introduced to the village hours earlier.

"I´m curious what he´s like, hes supposed to visit classes with us starting tomorrow." assessed Ino, seemingly excited.

 **The Hokage´s Office - At the same time**

"Hokage-sama, please send me to the Otherrealm to assist with the boys training." Hatake Kakashi had never asked for anything for as long as Sarutobi Hiruzen could remember, and he had to admit it was an interesting thought as well. But sending one of his strongest Jounin away from the village for such an extended period of time was not a small matter. It could be important for young Narutos wellbeeing to have some human contact while living amongst the Dragonfolk, and sending Kakashi there could open up a diplomatic canal to the strange scaled peoples leaders.

Smoking his pipe the Hokage contemplated his choices, pro and contra. His gaze wandered to Takeo, the boy warrior the Dragonkin had sent as an exchange student, a part of Minato´s agreement with their leader. "Do you think your people would allow for one of my Shinobi to be sent to Naruto?"

Takeo seemed to be thinking about it. "Well as this is not part of the original contract, you should discuss this with Kodai-sama himself. However, i have to warn you, doing so could be dangerous for your kind. See the powerful presence of Kodai-sama alone is easily enough to destroy a weak persons body and mind. That is why he resides in an extra pocket dimension, only accessible through a portal in our capital. I could take you there for sure, but i can´t say what would happen once you walk through the portal, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen looked at him with a raised eyebrow, puffing his pipe he thought about what he just learned. After a moment he got up from his seat and put his trademark Hokage hat on his head. "Do we need an appointment or can we go right away?" Kakashi wanted to intervene, "Hokage-sama are you sure you should?" Kakashi didn´t want to say it but he was referring to his elders old age.

"I am not the god of shinobi for nothing, Kakashi-san" was his answer as he got with Takeo, who then laid a hand on the elder mans shoulder and in a puff of smoke, they dissapeared.

In the next heartbeat the elder Kage found himself at blades edge, the tips of two huge Naginata staffs were right at his neck, wielded by two equally impressive Dragonkin warriors, clad in monks robes. Both their skulls were decorated with impressive long and thick horns, one even had carvings on them. They both withdrew their weapons however, the moment Takeo explained the situation to them, both of them bowed to the Hokage, not uttering a single word.

With the literal edge taken off the situation, Hiruzen took his time to let his eyes wander over his surroundings, they were situated on a large plateau high up in the mountains, a chilly wind beeing evidence to that. The rock to their feat was decorated in intricate carvings, and some pristine blue painted patterns. Right in front of them was the large stone portal Takeo must have spoken of, it was just three large stone slabs, one stacked upon two others, just rough stone without any carvings or anything of that sort.

Looking over the edge of the plateau for a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen took in a stunning sight, the outlook over the landscape was breathtaking, and the mountain they were upon must have been miles above sea level. Flush green forests, streams and rivers could be seen up until the horizon.

After some moments the elder Kage turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Takeo-san, thank you for taking me here, how will i get to Kodai-sama from here?" Takeo gestured to the stone slab portal, "Just step through Hokage-sama, but brace yourself." Nodding to the young scaled warrior the Hokage stepped forth and the two guardian warrios stepped aside. Taking a deep breath the Hokage stepped into the portal. It was a fascinating experience really, it was like stepping through a mirror only two find something completely different on the other side.

The first thing he surely noticed was that immense pressure of a very powerful, but benevolent chakra filling the area, he sure understood that someone who wasn´t strong enough whould immediatly be destroyed by the pressure alone. Bracing his body and mind, he looked around. He found himself on top a mighty cliff, barren rockland all around and as far as the eye could see, rocky hills with not much else. And no sign of the source to that powerful chakra he could feel, tingling on his skin like electricity.

As he stepped forward to look over the cliffs edge, the ground started shaking and an ear deafening rumbling rolling over the whole landscape. He had to take a few steps back in order to not risk falling over the edge and brace himself for whatever was about to happen. When he looked up to see what was going on, he found himself staring into one massive eye, he himself would have fit into it several times over. A huge black slitted pupil focused at him surrounded by a deep red and black iris in dark yellow sclera. The gigantic eye was surrounded by a mass of massive, black armored scales.

The Hokage stood in shock, neither beeing able to take in the whole size of what was before him nor beeing able to even comprehend it. Instantly the pressure of the chakra rose to an almost unbearable level, forcing the Sandaime Hokage to his knees, all the while staring in shock and awe. He couldn´t move or speak, hell he could hardly breath at that moment.

A blinding light forced his eyes shut, stinging all the way to the back of his head, but in the next heartbeat it was gone and so was the unbearale pressure, slowly opening his eyes, he noticed a figure had appeared before him, alltough he was unable to take in its features for a moment due to blurry vision. A mighty voice spoke up, and Hiruzen was almost blown onto his back by it, having to hold on to his hat momentarily and skidding back a few feet on his knee. The sound of rocks breaking from the cliff and crashing to the ground followed.

He could now clearly see the figure before him, clad in a simple dark white robe with black hem, a slender but wiry, rather small for their kind, male Dragonkin with shiny black armored scales and flowing long white hair between two slender shiny white horns stood before him, holding a hand before its mouth and clearing his throat. It spoke up again, but this time without the devastating effect. "I´m sorry Hokage-sama it´s allways so hard to reign in my voice." The figure even bowed to him, even though he was clearly above Hiruzen in power and status.

The elder Kage got two his feet and bowed to, what had to be mighty Kodai of the Dragonfolk. "Kodai-sama, i stand before you to discuss the arrangement you have with my deceased successor."

With great grace the Kodai walked up to him, even with him beeing smaller and more slender then most of his people, well at least from what the Hokage had seen so far, only a fool would not recognise the power that brimmed with the leader figure of the Dragonfolk. With a simple gesture the Kodai created seats from the rock for the both of them, not simple stone slabs, but fine crafted seats. They both took place, on what felt like a living room on top of the world to the Sandaime Hokage.

They would be having a very long discussion, in good will and a friendly manner.

* * *

 **Village of younglings, Otherrealm - two weeks later**

It has been the first sunny day after three days of heavy rain, so Naruto and everyone else had spend almost the whole day outside, now, as evening was breaking over the land, with the sun slowly nearing the horizon, the sky having a nice orange color with some fluffy white clouds, Naruto was sitting on top of a large rock in the fields surrounding the village, he had lots of free time here, which had totally suprised him at first, but made sense later when Kamiko-bachan had explained to him what this whole experience would be about. He just sat there, looking at the lush green gras moving along with the wind, contemplating what had happened so far.

On the morning of the first day after his arrival, Kamiko had come into his room to wake him, very gentle just by running her scaly fingers through his her. He had been so startled when he woke up to that it caused him an immediate cute little blush. The whole house was filled with delicious smells from breakfast that had already been prepared. Later he learned that all duties were to be shared by all of the residents, and he would learn how to properly cook and clean from Kamiko and the older kids.

It was at breakfast when he first met some of the other children, it were the youngest of the village that lived with the adult guardians in the smaller houses. The Uzumaki boy had to admit the small Dragonkin looked all super adorable, with large round eyes that were kinda unproportional but super cute, they all had squeaky little voices and were generally very energetic and fun to be around. There were only two toddlers in the village at the moment and one of the other adults was caring about them for the time beeing, Naruto had only seen them from afar, but of course, they were even cuter.

The day would always start with a good breakfast and the clean up after that. They would then all gather outside, no matter the weather and do some sort of meditational movement excercises. It looked like martial arts but it was very slow, Naruto didn´t like it at first, it seemed so boring, but he had to admit that, in order to do it right, there was lot more to it.

After the morning excercise on the first day, Kamiko had shown him around and introduced him to the other guardians and some of the older kids. Two children in particular, one female and one male, who were selected to act as his surrogate brother and sister for his time there. The younger female Dragonkin was excited to meet him and bombarded him with questions about him and the human world. The older male was a lot more introvert, he seemed focused and strong. Even though beeing a lot more timid then the girl he would later have lots of questions himself, but also in return also answer Narutos.

And there was lots of questions...

When lunch was over and the following cleanup was done, Kamiko had taken Naruto outside the village for a walk, in order to explain to him what this was all about and what they were trying to teach him here. He was sure he would never forget that. _"You see Naruto, after the wars of the past have left us with a very small population, we soon realised that we needed the smarts and the power of every single one of us in order to survive and prosper, and that we have to harness our potential to the fullest. But even in those times of need, one of our beloved Kodai´s greatest concern was still the people´s happiness, what good with it do to just survive in a world of grieve? So in his wisdom he and the elders divised a system for the upbringing of the upcoming generations. It´s divided into steps, and here you are at the first and most important one Naruto."  
_

She then explained to him that in order to ensure, that every single one of their offspring could live a life in contempt and fullfill their own potential, it was important to be at first and foremost at peace with ones self, and it really made sense to him. And in order to learn to understand and confront ones feelings, which is most important to be clean with ones self. The first step on their younglings journey would be to learn, grasp and understand love and affection. And that was what this village of younglings was all about. Children beeing children, and experiencing the unconditional love of their guardians and peers.

Of course their were all kinds of other things beeing taught to the children, basic knowledge, reading and writing, lots of academical stuff actually but in a rather laid back manner. Surprisingly most of the children were very eager to learn, and had good focus at such a young age already. Then there was meditation and basic chakra excercises, basic taijutsu classes, but also arts and craftsmenship classes. They would cook, eat, clean, sing, dance, learn and play together.

Thinking about all that, with a deep breath and a contempt smile on his face, watching the sundown with his cerulean blue eyes, Naruto could honestly say that he had never felt better and happier in his live.

Today was supposed to be a special day, Kamiko had told him one of the elders was supposed to come to visit him, in order to give him a medical checkup and check on the seal that held the Kyuubi within him. He had noticed that he had problems focusing and controlling his chakra, and Kamiko pointed out that it could have been because of the seal.

But as then sun vanished, nobody had shown up so far, when suddenly a strong wind swept over the land, and the sound of large wings flapping gave away to an impressive sight, as a full blown Dragon landed just in front of him on the soft gras. He hadn´t noticed it until it came into view and set his hind legs and large frontal claws to the ground. Observing closer, Naruto could make out that alltough very large, at least 65 feet in lenght and 26 feet in height, the dragon seemed skinny, it´s rips clearly visible, and there was long white hair coming from the small earlobes and out of the huge nostrils. Large bright blue eyes with a greyish tint to them looked at Naruto. With ground shaking steps the huge beast came closer.

"My human boy, you are tiny!" exclaimed the Dragon with a loud, deep and rough voice, he let out a cough just after that. He draw so close his large hairy nostrils were soon in Naruto´s face and the boy could hear the Dragons stout drawing of breath. Falling to it´s side and laying down it spoke further. "Well at least you seem to be in good health, i can smell a growth spurt coming in for you boy." Standing up on the rock where he was seated the blond knucklehead spoke up. "Excuse me sir, i must have missed your name." came in a timid little voice from the boy, who was clearly in awe.

"Oh excuse my manners boy, i am elder Daichi, would you mind showing me that seal of yours, im not getting younger and a want to get back to town before midnight. I´m very busy you see." And with a nod Naruto liftet his shirt and focused some chakra in oder to make the seal show. The elder Dragon shifted and extended a claw to touch be boys belly. With closed eyes the huge beast started to hum in thought as if contemplating something.

"Let us both take a closer look at that." stated the elder Dragon after some moments, and with that Narutos mind went blank for a moment.

And in the next second, he found him self standing in ankle high water, in what seemed to be some kind of sewer, it was dark except for some cracks in the walls, were bright light fell onto the watery floor. Looking around he found the elder Dragon was right next to him, looking worried.

"Boy the mind of an innocent child should never look anything like this..." he stated, as he took Naruto and set him atop his mighty head. Starting to wander off in to the darkness of the boys mindscape, right afterwards.


End file.
